Fountain ink roller and ink supply



July 13, 1965 D JR 3,194,155

FOUNTAIN INK ROLLER AND INK SUPPLY Filed Aug. 19, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

DAN/EL H. DAVIS JR.

MKM

ATTORNEY July 13, 1965 H, ws, JR 3,194,155

FOUNTAIN INK ROLLER AND INK SUPPLY Filed Aug. 19, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig. 41.

INVENTOR DAN/EL H. DAVIS JR.

ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,194,155 FGUNTAIN iNK RQLLER AND INK SllikLY Daniel H. Davis, Ilia, Dear-horn, Mich, assignor to Burroughs liorporation, Detroit, Mich, a corporation of Michigan Filed Aug. 19, 1963, Ser. No. 303,110 4 (Ilaims. ('Cl. till-65) This invention relates generally to printing apparatus and particularly to apparatus for supplying ink to a print wheel.

The principal object of the invention is to provide an improved ink applying apparatus including a fountain ink roller.

Another object of the invention is to provide for a print wheel, an improved inking apparatus including a fountain type ink roller to which a measured amount of ink is supplied in accordance with the needs of the print wheel.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved ink applying roller construction of a character to control passage of ink from the roller interior outwardly to the roller periphery to avoid an accumulation of excess ink on the periphery.

Other objects of the invention will become apparent from the following detail description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic illustration of an ink supplying apparatus, embodying features of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary plan view;

FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic view of a circuit of the apparatus;

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional view, taken along the line 4-4 of FIG. 2, and

FIG. 5 is a horizontal sectional view, taken along the line 55 of FIG. 4.

Referring to the drawings by characters of reference, there is illustrated in FIG. 2, a printing apparatus comprising a supporting member or base it), a check guideway 12, a print wheel 14, and a roller platen 16. The

guideway 12 is defined by a pair of vertical plates 18 arranged in spaced apart relationship on the supporting member to guide a paper sheet 11, such as a bank check, transported on edge. Mounted respectively on opposite sides of the guideway 12, the print wheel 14 and the cooperating pressure platen 16 project into the guide- Way 12 through clearance apertures 2% in plates 18 to form a bight in the path of check travel.

In accordance with the invention there is provided an apparatus for supplying ink to the print wheel 14 and i reservoir 24 is connected in communication with the fountain inking wheel 22 by a tube 28 in which the pump 26 is interposed, as shown.

In order to provide an cflicient yet inexpensive ink supply apparatus for the print wheel M, the inking roller 22 is constructed of a pair of like rigid side plates, or discs, 30 and 32, an inner wick 34 and an outer wick 36. The inner wick 34 is a circular pad or disc of wick material arranged between and concentrically of the roller side plates 3t and 32, the diameter of the pad being less than the respective corresponding diameters of the plates so as to form a peripheral channel to receive the outer wick 36. The outer wick 36 is in the form of an annulus or ring and has outwardly directed flanges 37 that are retained in circular channels 38 formed in the plates 3h,

32 near the outer peripheral edges thereof. The inner wick 34 is made of a suitable wick material, such as a soft felt, of relatively high porosity, but having a sufii- Patented July 13, 1965 ciently high capillarity to effect satisfactory distribution of ink through the portion of the wick adjacent its axis where centrifugal force is least effective. The outer wick 36 is preferably made of a hard felt of relatively low porosity or high density to restrict radial ink flow and to reduce wear against the print wheel.

The wicks 34- and 36 are clamped and held in position by and between the side plates 36) and 32 by bolts 4% which have threaded ends that screwthread into a rotatable mounting plate 42 which is afiixed to the upper end of a driving shaft 46.

A clearance aperture 48 is provided in the roller side plate 30 concentrically thereof to receive an ink inlet tube or nozzle 50 which is stationary and about which the roller rotates, the axes of the nozzle and of the driving shaft 46 being concentric. The nozzle 59 projects into the inner wick 34 through a bore-like clearance recess in the latter and therewithin has a plurality of small metering apertures or ports 52 in the side wall of the nozzle adjacent the embedded end thereof, the lower end of the nozzle being closed, as shown. A wiping action between the stationary nozzle 50 and the rotatable wick pad 34 occurs whereby the latter picks up bubbles of ink at the ink outlet ports 52.

To the nozzle 5i! and therefore to the interior of the inner wick 34 is delivered a measured amount of ink each displacement stroke of the pump 26, the pump being diagrammatically illustrated as comprising a body 54, a displacement piston 56 and check valves 531 and 6h. The piston 56 is electrically operated by a solenoid 62, the reciprocal core of which is connected to the piston by a connecting rod 64. A stop member 66 limits displacement movement of the piston 56 and thus determines the amount of ink supplied to the wick 34 each pulsing of the solenoid 62'. A pair of radially spaced apart contacts and 32 carried by and suitably insulated from arm '74 are provided, the contact 80 continuously engaging the bus 76 and contact 82 engaging pad contact 78 once each revolution of the rotary switch arm 74. The arm 74 is actuated by a solenoid 84 which operates a pawl 86 to rotate a ratchet 88 to which the switch arm 74 is affixed.

The timer solenoid 84 is controlled by a photoelectric cell 90 which is located on one side of the guideway 12 and normally receives light from a lamp 92 which is located on the other side of the guideway. When a check passing between the cell 96 and lamp 92 blocks light to the former, the timer solenoid 34 is pulsed and through operation of the pawl 86 and ratchet 83, rotates arm '74 through a corresponding angular displacement.

As shown in FIG. 3, the circuit of the cell 90 is a well known circuit utilizing a triode 94 having its cathode connected to ground through the cell t and its anode or plate connected to a suitable potential by a conduct-or containing a relay coil R with a parallel capacitor 96. A potential divider 98, connected to a suitable biasing source, provides for the proper potential on the triode grid so that the relay coil R will be energized in the well known manner when the light from lamp @2 is blocked by a check. The relay R has a pair of normally open contacts R1 in series circuit with the solenoid 84, thus operatively connecting the solenoid and the photoelectric cell 9%.

Operation When a check 11 enroute along the guideway 12 blocks the light of lamp 923 from the photoelectric cell 90, the relay coil R is energized and closes contacts R1 to pulse the solenoid for the interval required for the check to pass the cell. The pulsed solenoid 84 actuates the pawl 86, rotating the ratchet 88 through an angle corresponding to one ratchet tooth and rotating the switch arm 74 through a like angular displacement. This stepping action of the rotary switch it? is repeatedly initiated by successive cheeks 11 passing along guideway 12 to the print wheel 14 and after a number of such stepped operations (determined by the inking requirements of the inking roller 22) switch contact 82 engages fixed contact 78. When this occurs, the pump solenoid 62 is pulsed and actuates the pump 26 to displace ink in the ink supply system and deliver a measured amount of the ink such as one or two drops to the inner wick 34 of the inking roller. The ink is supplied through the stationary nozzle 58 to the interior of the rotating inking roller 22, the ink passing by capillary attraction and centrifugal force from the inner wick 34 to the outer wick 36. As previously mentioned, the outer wick 36 has a lower porosity or capillary attraction than the inner wick 34 and thus baffles the outward flow of ink so as to avoid an excess accumulation of ink on the outer periphery of wick 36. In addition, an excess accumulation of ink is avoided by supplying the inking roller 22, by means of the pump 26, with approximately the required amount of ink necessary to obtain approved legible printing on a given number of checks.

While the inking apparatus and fountain inking roller have been shown and described in considerable detail, it will be under-stood that many changes and variations may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. An inking apparatus comprising a pair of like rigid discs spaced apart in vertical broadside relationship, a

circular pad of wick material, means for clamping said pad flat between and by said discs concentrically therewith, said discs having outer margins thereof extending beyond the periphery of said pad to provide a circumferential channel with said periphery, inwardly facing oppositely disposed annular channels in said margins at the periphery of said pad, a ring of Wick material clamped by and between said disc margins, said ring of wick material having oppositely directed flanges retained respectively in said annular channels and having a lesser capillary attraction characteristic than said pad, a vertical driving shaft having its axis concentric with said discs, means on the upper end of said shaft for affixing said shaft; to the underside of the lower one of said discs, said pad having a cavity opening through the upper face thereof concentric with the axis of said shaft, a stationary ink supplying tube extending downwardly through said upper disc and having its end embedded within said cavity and small metering apertures in said embedded end for supplying ink to said pad by wiping action.

The inking apparatus of claim 1 wherein said means for clamping said pad flat between said rigid discs also clamps said discs with said wick material therebetween to said means on the upper end of said driving shaft.

3. The combination of claim 1 including automatic means for intermittently supplying ink to said stationary ink tube.

4. The combination of claim 1 wherein said pad of wick material is of soft felt and said ring of wick material is of hard felt.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,553,592 5/51 Kucklinsky 101-367 X 2,643,609 6/53 Gottscho 101-377 2,746,388 5/56 Gruver et al 101-367 2,773,446 12/56 oeber 101-367 X 2,903,965 9/59 Eichenbaum et al. 101-235 2,913,980 11/59 Lindeniann 101-367 X 2,923,232 2/60 Worth 101-367 X 2,941,467 6/60 Jauch et al. 101-366 2,945,436 7/60 Van Buskirk M 101-366 X 2,952,862 9/60 Lyon 101-367 X 2,987,995 6/61 Mahoney 101-376 2,990,771 7/61 Herrick 101-367 EUGENE R. CAPOZIO, Primary Examiner.

ROBERT E. PULFREY, Examiner. 

1. AN INKING APPARATUS COMPRISING A PAIR OF LIKE RIGID DISCS SPACED APART IN VERTICAL BROADSIDE RELATIONSHIP, A CIRCULAR PAD OF WICK MATERIAL, MEANS FOR CLAMPING SAID PAD FLAT BETWEEN AND BY SAID DISC CONCENTRICALLY THEREWITH, SAID DISCS HAVING OUTER MARGINS THEREOF EXTENDING BEYOND THE PERIPHERY OF SAID PAD TO PROVIDE A CIRCUMFERENTIAL CHANNEL WITH SAID PERIPHERY, INWARDLY FACING OPPOSITELY DISPOSED ANNULAR CHANNELS IN SAID MARGINS AT THE PERIPHERY OF SAID PAD, A RING OF WICK MATERIAL CLAMPED BY AND BETWEEN SAID DISC MARGINS, SAID RING OF WICK MATERIAL HAVING OPPOSITELY DIRECTED FLANGES RETAINED RESPECTIVELY IN SAID ANNULAR CHANNELS AND HAVING A LESSER CAPILLARY ATTRACTION CHARACTERISTIC THAN SAID PAD, A VERTICAL DRIVING SHAFT ITS AXIS CONCENTRIC WITH SAID DISCS, MEANS ON THE UPPER END OF SAID SHAFT FOR AFFIXING SAID SHAFT; TO THE UNDERSIDE OF THE LOWER ONE OF SAID DISCS, SAID PAD HAVING A CAVITY OPENING THROUGH THE UPPER FACE THEREOF CONCENTRIC WITH THE XIS OF SAID SHAFT, A STATIONARY INK SUPPLYING TUBE EXTENDING DOWNWARDLY THROUGH SAID UPPER DISC AND HAVING ITS END EMBEDDED WITHIN SAID CAVITY AND SMALL METERING APERTURES IN SAID EMBEDDED END FOR SUPPLYING INK TO SAID PAD BY WIPING ACTION. 